Signed; Boris Mikhailov - Unfinshed Dissertation - 1998

Rare signed copy by Boris Mikhailov on the title page. 220 pages and about 100 black-and-white photographic pages with handwritten annotations in Cyrillic characters and English translation on the facing page, English postface by Margarita Tupitsyn. Sturdy publisher’s hardcover with illustrated dust jacket. This book is listed in Hasselblad, The Open Book, pages 376-377 and in Auer, 802 photo books from the M. + M. Auer collection, no. 746. Excellent copy, almost like new.

Between 1984 and 1985, while the old Soviet Union was still a harsh reality, Boris Mikhailov was working on “Unfinished Dissertation” (Dissertation inachevée). He glued photographs of daily life in Kharkiv, Ukraine, onto the endpages of an unfinished thesis. In the margins, he scribbled fragmentary thoughts, diary-like observations, quotes from his readings. These are reflections that are sometimes ironical, sometimes melancholic, on Soviet society, art, and photography. Mikhailov discovers beauty at the heart of the gloom and absurdity of daily life in a provincial city of a declining empire. His notes provide a stimulating counterpoint to the photographs: no matter how monotonous and banal life may be, the human spirit and its unwavering will to play always offer a final refuge for the individual. “Unfinished Dissertation” intertwines critical reflection, narrative fragments, and sequences of images that are at once spiritual, nostalgic, and enigmatic, thereby creating a new genre of artist’s book.

Born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Mykhailov began his career as an engineer and taught himself photography. He later became a factory photographer under the USSR, but was fired after nudes of his wife were discovered. From the 1960s onward, he dedicated himself fully to photography. Throughout his career, he documented the breakdown of the Soviet Union, focusing on the lives of those marginalized by the changing social order. His work as a photographer is widely recognized abroad—in the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, and across Europe. In 1997, he received the Albert-Renger-Patzsch Prize awarded by the Dietrich-Oppenberg Foundation in Essen, Germany.

Excellent, practically like new copy from my personal collection, kept with the greatest care. Protected shipment with reinforced packing and insured international tracked shipping. For multiple purchases, possible group shipment with reimbursement of any excess postage paid via PayPal.

1.5 kg excluding packaging